Do you listen to equipment or music.

s2000cr
I got "Bitten" in 1952, just before Stereo entered. I can recall my first
experience at Audio House (Detroit) in 1954, listening to an RCA tape
of Alzo Sprach Zarathustra on Berlant Concertone deck, 2 Mc 50w
monoblocks, an two Stentorian (west coast) speakers. We kept repeating
the 22(?) hz organ pedal intro in utter fascination.
Battle? No contest. Even mid-fi in stereo won out. As for Consoles vs.
Separates? For the expanding number of true Audiophiles, Consoles
were a commercial cop-out. 
There's this: some Consoles sounded OK by themselves, but head-to-
head with separates ...?  To Audiophiles, not radio-phono customers,
no battle whatever.
Think of the effort and design that went into a 1960 preamp: The
top-line equipment compensated for the disparate recording curves,
provide recording inputs, "loudness", etc.,etc. 
Lord, it was exciting to have lived thru all that audio emergence. Some
of that tube equipment, lovingly up-dated, is still highly prized,
and by some very critical Sound Nuts!

O-ops - Hit the button twice.  Sorry - must be past my bed time!

I don’t know but since I get carried away by Jazz music in my Altima
which likely cost Nissan 10 bucks for all 4 speakers it may be the music .
I am certain the space has a LOT to do  with it .

@jhills, "My point is that, we as audiophiles, may get a little OCD and let a continual need for upgrades, tweaks and changes, take the place of periodically just sitting back, for a bit, to enjoy the music.."

I bet every one of us here (excepting perhaps the most cynical of dealers), is familiar with that feeling.

With me, the audio OCD was at its worst some 15 years ago. After spending almost a months wages on a cartridge that was barely an improvement upon it's predecessor (which cost less than a fifth of it's price, and ultimately proved superior), I began the long slow road to recovery. 

Of course, I'll never be cured, and don't want to be, but I do try to keep a perspective on all things audio. Friends and family help too. If that fails, I keep in mind the certainty that music is there to be enjoyed, not analyzed.

The Beatles 'Ticket to Ride' will still sound good on any system,
https://youtu.be/UHsN9d4FTVI

as will Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto 2  
https://youtu.be/rEGOihjqO9w

or Glenn Gould playing Bach's famous Aria from the Goldberg Variations.

https://youtu.be/Gv94m_S3QDo

@david_ten 

mixing my sobriety metaphor with your pregnancy metaphor hopefully results in many full terms of musical enjoyment and not postpartum depression 

In all seriousness, couldn’t be more happy to have nine + months of not thinking about any tweaks or upgrades (after almost a full year of trying way too much gear). Nice to know you can hit an endgame plateau (I acknowledge there may be others in the future) where the sound is so good that music and musical discovery is all one is interested in and is what makes you look forward to getting home.

that said, every once in a while I discover a piece of music that shows of the quality of my system in a new way and I say “sh*t my system sounds good!”.... then I go back listening to the music.

There’s hope.